Israel in Virtual Lockdown Over Coronavirus

Amid growing fears over novel coronavirus, Israel has imposed a restriction requiring all incoming travelers, no matter what their nationality or where they are arriving from, to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days. “This is a difficult decision, but it is essential to maintaining public health, which takes precedence over everything,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained when announcing the decision on Monday night. He added that the new regulations would remain in place for two weeks before the situation is reevaluated. The measures took effect immediately for Israelis, whereas they will begin applying to foreign nationals on Thursday evening. People who are not citizens of the country will be barred from entering unless they provide proof of a place to stay throughout the quarantine period. The directives, which also oblige tourists to leave the country “in the coming days,” came as the Health Ministry raised the number of confirmed infections in Israel from 39 to 50. According to Israeli media reports, the Finance Ministry estimates that the move will cost the country $1.4 billion a month. Nevertheless, Israel’s Central Bank predicted that the nation’s overall growth would slow by only 0.7% and that the financial strain would subside by the end of June. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that the number of cases of coronavirus in the West Bank has risen to 26, all except for one contained to the Bethlehem area. Ramallah has declared a state of emergency in a bid to prevent a widespread outbreak.